The Great Galveston Disaster / Containing a Full and Thrilling Account of the Most Appalling Calamity of Modern Times Including Vivid Descriptions of the Hurricane and Terrible Rush of Waters; Immense Destruction of Dwellings, Business Houses, Churches, and Loss of Thousands of Human Lives; Thrilling Tales of Heroic Deeds; Panic-Stricken Multitudes and Heart-Rending Scenes of Agony; Frantic Efforts to Escape a Horrible Fate; Separation of Loved Ones, etc., etc.; Narrow Escapes from the Jaws of Death; Terrible Sufferings of the Survivors; Vandals Plundering Bodies of the Dead; Wonderful Exhibitions of Popular Sympathy; Millions of Dollars Sent for the Relief of the Stricken Sufferers

by Paul Lester

THE PROJECT WAS APPROVED.

The plan also involved the extension of the jetty channel through Galveston Bay and up Buffalo Bayou as far as Houston, more than sixty miles distant, making the latter city an open seaport. Railways would have, by means of the filled-in land, ready access to the city, and, in addition, the port facilities of Galveston would be many times increased, and a continuous sea channel be constructed from the Gulf to Houston.

This project, as outlined by Colonel Robert, received the unqualified approval of the various interests concerned in the development of Galveston harbor, and steps had been taken to carry out the plan before the onslaught of the recent storm swept away water lines and much of the city itself. Colonel Robert now proposes an additional plan, simple and inexpensive, for affording the fullest and most complete measure of protection from all storms. This new plan is to construct a sea wall along the Gulf front of the city.

It is estimated that the height of the waves in the recent storm, which was the severest ever experienced on the Texas coast, was about ten to twelve feet. Colonel Robert suggests that a wall at least twelve feet above the beach, and running the entire length of the water front, or about ten miles, be built immediately to barricade the city from the Gulf. A height of twelve feet above the beach would give fourteen feet above the water, and would, Colonel Robert thinks, afford ample protection.

COST OF THE SEA WALL.

As to the expense of such a structure, it is thought by engineers that a liberal estimate would be about $1,500,000 per mile. This wall, as projected by Colonel Robert, would extend from a point on the south jetty, where the latter crosses the Gulf front of the city, and would follow the line of the beach, two or three feet above the water level, until it reached the southwestern limit of the island, in the shallow water of West Bay. At the latter point the danger from storms is not serious.

At present the depth of water between the jetties is 26½ feet, and it is thought that it will soon be thirty feet. The average depth of the original channel across the twenty-five miles of Galveston Bay is about twelve feet. It is proposed by Colonel Robert’s plan to increase this to at least twenty-five feet. An additional and supplementary plan is to extend the improvement, so as to create a system of coast channels that will transform Galveston into a central port with a labyrinth of waterways.

EXTENSIVE HARBOR IMPROVEMENT.

The magnitude of the plan for the improvement of the harbor of Galveston may be imagined when it is observed that the inner basin, or harbor, is to be about five miles long by three broad, that it may be approached by a deep water channel accommodating ocean going vessels of the deepest draught. The outlet into West Bay will not be so deep, as the bay itself is navigable by light draught vessels only. The new land, formed on the basis of Pelican Island and flats will be about four miles square.

Colonel Robert said that a survey will be made at once of the wrecked forts and other military works at Galveston. A report received from that place says that those portions of the works erected upon piling withstood the storm. It is proposed to use piling entirely for similar works in the future.